REACH is a European Union regulation dated 18 December 2006. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment. REACH aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. This is done by the four processes of REACH, namely the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals. REACH also aims to enhance innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.

Companies have the responsibility of collecting information on the properties and the uses of substances that they manufacture or import at or above one tonne per year. They also have to make an assessment of the hazards and potential risks presented by the substance.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals.

Contrary to what the name implies, TSCA does not separate chemicals into categories of toxic and non-toxic. Rather it prohibits the manufacture or importation of chemicals that are not on the TSCA Inventory or subject to one of many exemptions. Chemicals listed on the TSCA inventory are referred to as "existing chemicals", while chemicals not listed are referred to as new chemicals. The Inventory now lists about 85,000 chemicals. Generally, manufacturers must submit pre-manufacturing notification to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to manufacturing or importing new chemicals for commerce.

EN71 is a set of European Product Safety standard that applies to all toys sold in the European Union. EN 71, which is also a part of the CE directive, has been put in place to ensure that all toys sold in the EU meet certain minimum safety standards. Product safety is always a big deal, but even more so when it regards products that are (exclusively or not) used by children. In order to make things a bit more complicated, the EN 71 directive is not made up of only one part, but thirteen:

EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties

EN 71-2: Flammability

EN 71-3: Specification for migration of certain elements

EN 71-4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities

EN 71-5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets

EN 71-6: Graphical symbols for age warning labeling

EN 71-7: Finger paints

EN 71-8: Swings, slides and similar activity toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic use

ASTM F963-Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety is the most important regulation for toy safety in America. On October 20, 2016, ASTM International published ASTM F963-16, the new standard is a revision to the ASTM F963-11 version. The ASTM F963-11 version became mandatory by the US CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) rule on June 12, 2012. Only when products comply with this standard can they enter the US market. The 2016 version of ASTM F963 contains several significant changes to the US toy standard. Among the changes, the 2016 revision addresses ride-on toys with: a new curb impact requirement, a clarification of overload and stability requirements, and a strap exemption.

F963-16 also adds:

new labeling requirements for toys that have certain small coin/button batteries,

temperature and current-limiting requirements for lithium-ion batteries, and

new requirements for materials and toys that could expand if accidentally swallowed.

Other revisions include:

new soaking and compression tests for magnets

new requirements and clarifications related to microbiological safety;

EU legislation restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC) and promoting the collection and recycling of such equipment (WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC) has been in force since February 2003. The legislation provides for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return their used e-waste free of charge. The objective of these schemes is to increase the recycling and/or re-use of such products. It also requires heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) to be substituted by safer alternatives.

Inadequately treated e-waste poses environmental and health risks. In December 2008, the European Commission therefore proposed to revise the directives on electrical and electronic equipment in order to tackle the fast increasing waste stream of such products. The aim is to increase the amount of e-waste that is appropriately treated and to reduce the volume that goes to disposal. The aim of the RoHS recast was also to reduce administrative burdens and ensure coherency with newer policies and legislation covering, for example, chemicals and the new legislative framework for the marketing of products in the European Union. The RoHS Recast Directive (RoHS 2) was published in the Official Journal on 1 July 2011.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed[5] and veterinary products.

The FDA was empowered by the United States Congress to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which serves as the primary focus for the Agency; the FDA also enforces other laws, notably Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and associated regulations, many of which are not directly related to food or drugs. These include regulating lasers, cellular phones, condoms and control of disease on products ranging from certain household pets to sperm donation for assisted reproduction.

The IFRA is the International Fragrance Association. The group met for the first time in Geneva in 1973 and formed the basic outline for their mission. They regulate fragrances used in all types of products that come into contact with human skin.

Studies discovered that when multiple chemicals work together, they sometimes cause adverse reactions, especially in regards to the human body. To ensure the safety of daily fragrance, IFRA funded and set up Research Institute Fragrance Materials (RIFM). Experts in RIFM and related institutes, universities cooperate to test and evaluate daily fragrance. They do research into different chemicals used in products like perfume every year and makes note of their findings.

According to the result given from RIFM, IFRA makes suggestions upon prohibited substances and restricted substances (usage limitation, applied field, etc.) In the past they have banned the use of some chemicals and essential oils because of the reaction they caused to people. In June, 2013, IFRA formally notified that the IFRA Code of Practice had been amended as part of the industry’s current security plan. The fragrance industry’s security plan dedicates to assess fragrant feed stocks and develop the “safety using amount” or prohibit their use based on the studies that reveal the implications for humans and environment. The security plan now includes 186 standards, restricts or prohibits the use of some fragrance materials.